Écomusée du Marais Vendéen, Maillezais

The Écomusée du Marais Vendéen at Maillezais is an open-air museum in the village of Maillezais in the Vendée department of Pays de la Loire, dedicated to the ecology, history, and traditional land use of the Marais Poitevin wetland system — a vast area of drained and flooded marshland at the southern edge of Pays de la Loire. The museum is situated at the boundary between the dry marsh (marais desséché) and the wetter tree-canopied channels of the mouillère zone, allowing visitors to move between different landscape types in the course of a single visit. The museum site encompasses traditional agricultural buildings, reconstructed marsh smallholdings (cabanes de maraîchins), demonstrations of traditional crafts including basket-weaving and punt fishing, and a network of canal-side paths along the marsh edge. Living exhibits include Maraîchine cattle — the local breed adapted to the wet pastures — heritage poultry breeds, and plantings of marsh flora including aquatic irises and white-flowered water plants. Guided boat trips on the adjacent canals form part of the seasonal programme, departing from a small landing stage within the museum grounds. The ruined abbey of Maillezais — a Benedictine foundation of the tenth century, used as a fortress during the Wars of Religion and systematically dismantled in the eighteenth century — is adjacent to the museum and included in the visit. The abbey ruin, standing on a low limestone ridge above the marsh, offers elevated views across the wetland landscape. The museum operates seasonally from April to October.